"Turkey at the Crossroads of Civilizations and its Geo-strategic Importance in Foreign Policy"

H. E. Ms. Solmaz Ünaydin, Ambassador of Turkey to Japan, received an M.A. from Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, USA. She entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1967 and served in various positions including Second Secretary and Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the UN, First Secretary at the Turkish Embassy in Egypt, Ambassador of Turkey to Sweden and Poland, Director General of the Department for Overseas Promotion of Turkey and Director General for Policy Planning Department. H.E. Ms. Ünaydin took up her appointment as Ambassador to Japan in February 2003.

Roundtable Topic

Turkey is a significant country in terms of its population, size of territory and economic strength. It also has an important geo-strategic location and connects three continents to each other, making this country the crossroad of civilizations and a natural bridge for connecting the Caspian region and Central Asia to the West. Turkey is in a position to expend great efforts to reflect peace, stability, democracy and tolerance in its environment. The foreign policy applied by Turkey is based on both the geo-strategic, economic and cultural realities in the special geography in which it resides and on peaceful principles. Furthermore, Turkey will attain the status of being the center of a multi-dimensional economic relations network in the new century. It is hoped that it will continue to function as a successful bridge in various aspects between the East and West even more effectively in the twenty-first century.